Intro to Functionalism

• The family is the site of primary socialisation
• Cohabitation: Partners who live together without getting married
• A family:

  A group of two more people linked by birth, marriage, adoption
• A Household:

  All people living together in the same domestic residence.
• Nuclear Family

  The family is still characteristically perceived as consisting of Mum, Dad and children
• 7 Types Of Families

  Beanpole Family, Empty Nest Family ,Lone Parent family, Reconstituted family, Nuclear family, Extended Family, Same Sex Family
• Extended Family

  An extended family is one which contains relative beyond the nuclear family for example grandparents or aunts and uncles who live together in the same household
• Reconstituted Family

  This type of family still consists of adults with children from previous relationships remarry (or cohabit) to form a new family.
• Beanpole Family

  A family whose living members come from many generations, but with few members in each generation.
• Murdock (1949) argues that the family performs 4 essential functions to meet the needs of society.
• Murdock's 4 Functions Of The Family

  1. Stable satisfaction of the sex drive 2.Reproduction of the next generation 3.Meeting the economic needs of its members 4.Socialisation of the young 
• Strength Of Murdock


  Murdock highlights the many functions of the nuclear family. Whilst it is true other institutions could perform these functions, few could perform all four effectively Murdock found some version of the nuclear family present in 250 different societies – suggesting many people and societies must find it functional.
• Weakness Of Murdock


  Some argue the functions could be performed equally well through other institutions I.E a non-nuclear family. Marxists and feminists argue that functionalism ignores conflict in the family. Feminists think the family serves only the needs of men, whilst Marxist think it serves the needs of capitalism, not its members